A giant soccer ball that lights up at night stands on a pedestal in the Design District, in the median of Hi Line Drive at Decorative Center, to welcome soccer fans to the city. The soccer ball stands just in front of Andrew Myers’ 20-foot statue, In Case of Emergency
(Photo by Chad Mantooth/Dallas Voice)
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
Some European governments and a number of LGBTQ+ rights organizations have done everything from issuing travel advisories to recommending boycotts of World Cup games taking place in U.S. cities — including Dallas — due to the numerous anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies in place in the U.S. in general and especially here in Texas.
The German government’s warning is to transgender and non-binary travelers whose passports list their gender as X rather than male or female. They warn that the United States does not recognize X as valid for sex and recommend contacting a U.S. diplomatic mission before traveling to the U.S.
German officials further warn their transgender citizens they face heightened scrutiny and potential entry issues when traveling to the U.S. They point to an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on his first day in office that requires applicants to choose male or female on their visa applications.
They further warn that anyone whose current physical appearance or whose gender listed on their visa and passport differ from their sex assigned at birth should expect problems entering the U.S.
The country has warned that its citizens may not be allowed to enter the U.S. even if they have a valid visa or entry waiver.
Queer Football Fanclubs, a network of 29 soccer fan clubs — 24 German, three Swiss, one Dutch and one British — opposes all forms of discrimination, especially those based on sexual orientation, according to the QFF website.
In 2022, QFF criticized FIFA for holding the World Cup in Qatar, “a country where homophobia is supported by the penal code and homosexuality is a criminal offense.”
This year, they are using the German government’s warnings about travel to the U.S. as the basis for their recommendation not to attend the World Cup games. They are citing safety concerns for their LGBTQ+ members, including the threat of denial of entry, detention and invasive social media screening.
Denmark advises anyone with a gender designated as X or anyone who has had gender-affirming surgery and has changed their legal gender to contact the American embassy before traveling and ask how to proceed. Finland, which doesn’t include the choice of X as a gender on its passports, still warns that the U.S. may deny entry.
Slovakia, which offers an X gender, warns it’s trans and non-binary citizens that gender on the binary U.S. visa and on the passport must match. Austria, France, Slovenia, Ireland and Norway are some of the other countries that have issued warnings about travel to see the World Cup games in the U.S.
As a result of Trump’s executive order, the U.K. updated its guidance for its citizens traveling to the U.S. and warns of possible arrest and deportation if travelers don’t comply with entry requirements.
And according to Sky Sports, “England’s official LGBTQ supporters’ group, Three Lions Pride (3LP), announced in January that they would not have a visible presence at the tournament.”
The group cited a “dangerous rollback of human rights” in the U.S. that they say “has caused significant concern for fans who were planning to attend the tournament.” They said they didn’t believe the World Cup would be a “safe and inclusive environment” for its members or for the LGBTQ+ community.
That rollback in human rights includes federal restrictions on pronoun usage, healthcare, access to bathrooms, military service, sports bans and the ability to get correct identification.
The 3LP group told Outsports that, in addition to its transgender members being “at high risk of violence and discrimination,” its “butch lesbian family” would likely get caught up in some of the anti-trans legislation and the rest of its “queer family would be a target for abuse.”
But aren’t some parts of the U.S. safe for LGBTQ+ people or at least safer than others?
Yes. And Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands specifically mention Texas, where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has passed, as being more dangerous than other parts of the country.
So far, there have been no reports of LGBTQ+ fans being turned away upon entry. Some trans and non-binary fans may have taken their government’s warnings seriously and obtained waivers before traveling. Or perhaps they have traveled to Mexico and Canada to watch the games being played there. Or they’ve just stayed home.
Heeding the warnings?
According to GLAAD, nearly 3 in 10 LGBTQ+ adults in the U.S. plan to watch the World Cup, and 3 in 5 Americans who are planning to watch the World Cup are LGBTQ allies.
GLAAD also found that only 27 percent of Americans believe large-scale sporting events are a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community.
And while Pride House International is coordinating “a massive inclusion initiative to welcome and support LGBTQ fans, athletes and allies,” and has announced Pride Houses in each of the 16 host cities, there is no Pride House in Dallas.
Dallas — really Arlington — is hosting the most games of the 16 host cities, and certainly Dallas’ LGBTQ community can’t be accused of not being organized. But from what we can tell, there was no attempt to open a Pride House here.
There’s no way to count how many LGBTQ+ visitors came to Dallas or entered the U.S. for the World Cup. So we’re relying on anecdotal evidence from some of the bars.
Lee Daugherty, owner of Alexandre’s on Cedar Springs Road, said he’s seen little evidence of an uptick in foreign visitors. But, he added, they’ve only played one game in Arlington so far.
By “evidence,” he meant he hasn’t seen groups of people wearing jerseys promoting their national teams or presenting foreign passports when asked for identification.
But, he said, he’s hoping for a surge when Mexico plays in AT&T Stadium.
At The Round-Up Saloon, where guests are asked to show ID at the door, bar owner and Cedar Springs Merchants Association President Kevin Miller said he’s seen a noticeable increase in the number of people using foreign passports rather than drivers licenses as ID.
JR’s and Sue Ellen’s are both holding watch parties for a number of the games. Those events may draw crowds, but they will more than likely be crowds of locals rather than rooms full of visitors.
Harvey Meissner, general manager of The Hidden Door, said he’s seen some additional business around the World Cup. For the first game held in Arlington, the Oak Lawn Soccer Club held a watch party at the bar. They were expecting a couple of dozen people, but 80 showed up.
But again, no word on how many of those were locals and how many might have been visitors from elsewhere.